Sister Katherine knelt on the dirt floor of the hastily dug trench, silently praying to the Emperor. Rising, she glanced down the trench at the Sisters of Battle as they prepared to face the Ork horde. The Order of Saint Celestine, like all militant nunneries of the Ecclesiarchy, was not intended to be frontline battlefield combatants. They simply weren't equipped for set piece battles. They were designed for quick, surgical strikes against specialized targets.
Still, when the Emperor called, they answered. She glanced down the trench to see the red-gold armor of their Living Saint, Magdalena. She was conversing with Rebecca, the Sister Superior of the Seraphim, the finest soldiers among the sisterhood. Katherine knew that Magdalena had tried to contact their Preceptory on Pentateuch for new orders, but had received no word. It was likely the message never found its way to the Astropaths. That bastard Inquisitor, Gaius Saevitiae had placed his Inquisitional Mandate on all outgoing communications. For now they were on their own.
So Magdalena had placed them at the disposal of Colonel Lazarus, the Commissar who had found himself commanding the Imperial guard forces on Kali V. Thus they had found themselves position on the right side of the Cadian 801st "Iron Skulls" armored brigade. The armored vehicles of such units were terribly susceptible to close assault from infantry, so the Sisters had been tasked with protecting the brigade. They were positioned on a low hill looking northeast, with the 734th Cadian Imperial guard lines visible due east.
Of the one hundred thirty-eight sisters of the Commandery of the Ardent Blade who had made the trip to Kali V, only sixty-seven were still combat-capable. Thirty Lay-sisters in their crimson Vestment pattern power armor formed the core of the line, with ten white-armored Dominions armed with stormbolters. Mother Agnes and Katherine both had four elite Celestians under their command, with a pair of heavy bolters borrowed from the Imperial Guard. Seven of the suicidal Repentias were crouched in the trenches with Sister-Superior Martha, ready to counterattack the Orks in close combat with their bloody Eviscerators. With Leah's death at the hands of the Inquisitor's pet Eldar, Rebecca had taken the remaining Seraphim under her command, now numbering just six. Three Repressor APC's, four Immolators, and two Exorcists were parked behind them to lend fire support.
"They're coming!" Magdalena called out. They peered over the edge of the trench, marveling at the massive horde of Orks. The artillery and tank cannons of the brigades to their right and left began hammering the mass, sending plumes of earth and blood skyward. The concentration of firepower was impressive, and it channeled the Orks between the two Cadian regiments…right into the Sisters of Battle.
"Keep your heads down until they are in Bolter range!" Katherine cautioned. She motioned for her Celestian sisters to ready the heavy bolters as the first wave came into range of the Exorcists' missiles. They fired, quickly wiping out a number of fast light vehicles that dashed forward of the advance to engage them. A crude rocket from one of the Ork buggies slammed into the front glacis of an Exorcist, but did no damage to it at all.
The Celestians began firing the heavy bolters as the Orks came into range. Two trucks loaded with Ork infantry dashed along the sides of the infantry advance and one massive "Battlewagon" came up the center. Katherine's eyes widened at the bizarre vehicle, armed with a cannon and seven pintle mounted machineguns. The Orks began pouring fire onto their position, tearing the earth of the rampart to shreds with the volume of heavy caliber weapons. Only the Celestians were exposed, firing the heavy bolters, the other sisters crouched in the trench keeping their heads down. Two of her Celestians were hit in the brutal barrage, and as the other two scrambled up to man the weapon, they were struck down as well.
"Take that thing out, now!" Katherine shouted and the Exorcists answered by firing two spreads of rockets at the heavily armored "Battlewagon". Seven rockets slammed into the vehicle, which immediately exploded in a ball of white-hot Prometheum fire. The four Immolators directly behind them opened fire with their own twin-linked heavy bolters, dropping the advancing Orks in large numbers. Katherine grit her teeth and took up the gun position herself, firing burst after burst into them. "Sisters! For the Emperor! Fire!"
